The Ritual
by TomatoSoupful
Summary: What most people don't know is that Meas Hughes and Roy Mustang shared a camera between them; capturing moments of their lives since they were fifteen. But now Meas is gone and Elysia is left. One-shot.


**Full Metal Alchemist –The Ritual**

**So...who else cried their heart out when Meas Hughes died? Cause I know I did! In both series. So tragic! But then, I wondered about Elysia...and Roy Mustang. And so, this little one-shot was created.  
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**Warning: Fluff... I guess that's the word.  
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**I do not own Full Metal Alchemist. Sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes.  
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**THE RITUAL  
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Years before…

Roy Mustang met Meas Hughes for the first time when they were fifteen years old.

What an age…

The two were seated next to each other in their first class. They had been paired for a project, forced together under tedious circumstances but they came out as friends. This friendship grew until the boys were inseparable. Well, Meas would never let Roy out of his sight no matter how hard he tried to escape the embarrassment of having such an enthusiastic friend.

Roy would visit Meas' house and Meas would visit the Hawkeye household while Roy was learning alchemy. Meas put up a good fight trying to make Roy's alchemy teacher, Berthold, smile but it ended quickly enough. Meas also met the daughter of Berthold: Riza.

What a lovely first meeting. Meas had joked about Roy and Riza's 'relationship', demanding them to come out and admit their love for each other. It had been harmless at first until Berthold happened to have overheard the conversation…thus, resulting in him using flame alchemy to burn the door to Roy's room down.

Yes, what a lovely first meeting. Meas found, to his delight, his camera stashed in his bag. He took a quick snapshot of the situation. He was giving a fabulous smile while, in the background, Riza was trying to pull her father's hands away from Roy's neck. Lovely indeed, Roy would comment dryly.

Despite the ups and downs, Meas and Roy were the best of friends.

Later…

It became a bit of a ritual. A secret ritual that no one, but them, knew.

Meas and Roy would share a single camera.

This camera was given to Meas for his fifteenth birthday and then used to capture memories forever. The photos were then kept in a scrapbook that Meas had made himself despite Roy's opposition. "Girls do that!" However, Roy was ignored much to his distaste, but that didn't mean he wasn't involved. Meas insisted that he and Roy should share it; he would keep the camera for a month and then Roy would have it for the same amount of time. Together, they would collect whatever they could of their childhood and keep it close to them.

Roy would never allow Meas to tell anyone else.

…It _was _kind of embarrassing. At first, it was fine. They were kids after all. But then Meas kept the ritual going through their early-twenties…then their mid-twenties…then their late-twenties. When Meas handed Roy the special camera on his twenty-ninth birthday he realised that the ritual was probably going to last until death.

Roy would never allow Meas to tell anyone else.

...It _was_ their thing. It was for their friendship and their friendship only. God! Roy couldn't believe it; he sounded so much like a child! But it was true.

It was also a big of a drag but that was okay. He could last. It was his best friend after all. And anyway, there _were_ always far more photos taken by Meas than Roy but that didn't exactly _matter…_

During the years, Meas and Roy had seized all the memories they could. All their birthdays, their parties, their graduation, their holidays, their hilarious moments. They would look back on them and share a laugh or a smirk…or a blush at the stupidity of their younger selves. "I can't believe I did that," Roy said.

"Yeah," Meas snickered. "What were you thinking, getting that haircut?"

The camera was there to take pictures of Mustang's growing squad. The reunion of Riza Hawkeye, the introduction of Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Vato Falman and Kain Fuery. The two had a page in the scrapbook dedicated to Black Hayate growing up. Heck, the two even managed to grab pictures of Edward and Alphonse…

…It was like one big happy family.

Some of the best pictures were of Meas and Gracia's wedding. Gracia and Meas stood side by side, their hands curled together. Gracia wore a long white dress and she looked like an angel. Meas looked as though he was about to faint he was so happy and joyous. And then, another picture had the groom and his best man wearing quite impressive looking suits…and then ruining them by accidentally spilling their wine. "It was _after_ the wedding, so it didn't matter," Roy explained to Riza.

"You were drunk sir," Riza muttered.

"It was after! I'm telling you, it was _fine_!"

And then there were pictures of Elysia's birth. Roy would always remember that day when he came to see the daughter of his best friend. He agreed: Elysia was beautiful. A little angel, as Meas would call her. Then Meas would send Roy a large grin and say, "You better love her; she's your god-daughter after all." It had shocked Roy at first…him? A god-father? But Meas and Gracia were determined and sure of their decision and, honestly, Roy couldn't be happier.

Yeah. It was a secret ritual.

But a ritual that both of them stuck to. Neither of them wanted to give it up.

Years Later…

Roy Mustang couldn't believe how much she had grown.

Little Elysia, who had once been a small chubby angel, was now a fifteen-year-old girl. She had her mother's looks. Her body shape, her opal eyes, her sugar-brown hair, her button nose. But…she had his smile. She was her father's daughter alright. Chirpy and enthusiastic, with a love for photography. Elysia would grant everyone who passed her a warm smile and a wave of a hand.

Meas would be proud…

"Hey Uncle Roy," she said, flashing a contagious grin.

Roy couldn't help it, he smiled back, "How are you Elysia?"

The girl smirked and shrugged, "Aw, you know. It's my fifteenth birthday. What an age, huh?" The two were seated in the living room. For Elysia's birthday, Gracia had invited as many family and friends as possible for a dinner. Roy had decided to come a little early. He needed to do something…

The god-father nodded, "Yeah. I remember when I was fifteen..." his voice trailed off and he eyed the ground.

"…You met my dad, when you were fifteen…didn't you?"

Roy Mustang glanced at the girl, who was watching her god-father closely. "Yeah," he swallowed thickly. "It's also...um... for his fifteenth birthday Meas got a present…a special present. And…I want to give it to…you…" Why was it so hard to talk to Elysia about her father?

Elysia's eyes widened, "Really? What is it?"

She leaned in keenly when Roy's hand closed in on his jacket's pocket. He reached in and pulled out... an old camera. Elysia lightly chuckled at the typicality but then her eyes watered. She hardly had any memories of her father. Elysia didn't remember his face, she had to look at photos but she remembered that warmth, that love that radiated off him like sun rays.

Meas had loved his daughter with all his heart.

And Elysia only wished she could speak to him.

Elysia took the camera slowly when Roy handed it over. Roy saw her slightly confused look and answered softly, "Your father and I…we would always... share that camera. He'd have it for a month then I'd have it. It was our ritual. I figured, you and I could do that. Continue the ritual. If you want…"

Elysia sniffed and wiped the stray tear from her eyes. "Yes," she said confidently, holding the camera close to her. "Of course. I'd love to, Uncle Roy." Elysia couldn't believe it when Roy told her there was more to her present.

With her hands wrapped around the camera protectively, Roy took out from a paper bag beside his feet, a scrapbook. He also handed that over and said, "You want to know your father? You'll know everything there is to know about him in here…"

Elysia opened the scrapbook and her heart leaped with a strange emotion. She couldn't decide what it was: love, sadness, happiness, gratefulness? Was it a combination? She couldn't decide. Elysia saw her father. The boy he had been, the young man he had been and the father he had become. She saw her father and Roy grow up together, meet new friends, step over many boundaries that life presented to them and still come out positive.

"Thank you. Thank you _so _much," Elysia said finally. Then she turned to a blank page. She looked to her god-father who was staring at the page. What could have been there? What other memories could have been saved into that camera? Elysia sucked in a deep breath and declared, "This page. It'll be for my fifteenth birthday. We'll have pictures of all of us tonight. Our big happy family. For dad."

And it was done.

Roy and Elysia were soon able to complete the following pages of the scrapbook. The two kept the ritual going, kept it lasting, living. It wasn't ending just yet. Not yet.

He and Elysia…and Meas still had memories to capture.

**And there you go. Sorry if it kind of sucked. I just really wanted to do this. Review if you wish.**


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